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Doctors are being urged to refuse to sign up to the free GP scheme

They say that the plan will not be in the best interests of patients.

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of General Practitioners (NAGP) has called on doctors not to comply with the government’s plan to give free GP care to under-sixes.

The NAGP, which represents 1,200 of the country’s 2,300 GPs, has recommended that its members refuse to sign any contract put forward by the government.

According to the NAGP, GPs have an “ethical and moral responsibility” to “prevent the introduction of a scheme which will only serve to increase the abhorrent inequities in our health service”.

They say that the plan will not be in the best interests of patients.

“With hundreds of patients on trolleys in our emergency departments every day and medical cards being removed from or denied to cancer patients, it is morally reprehensible to invest scarce public funds into providing free care to any group of people who do not have a genuine medical or financial need,” the NAGP believes.

Every one of us has scores, if not hundreds, of patients on dangerously long waiting lists. We all have patients who have been denied a medical card or had their medical card withdrawn despite real medical need.

In our capital, a north-side Dubliner will die seven years earlier than his south-side neighbour and yet the south side has one GP for every 1,600 people while the north side has one GP for every 3,000.

“It is our honest belief that rural and deprived inner city practice will effectively cease within the next five to 10 years. To fuel such inequality and injustices should be a cause of shame to the Minister for Health,” says Dr Michael McConville, Cavan GP and a member of the NAGP’s National Council.

Read: Half of Ireland’s GPs are working more than 50 hours per week

Read: So it turns out that ‘free GP care’ might not actually be free

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80 Comments
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    Mute in_zane_burger
    Favourite in_zane_burger
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 3:06 PM

    Can I have my money back now

    32
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    Mute padser123
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 3:33 PM

    It’s like’…..burning your furniture – to keep warm!

    23
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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 4:52 PM

    Why are PwC saying this instead of IBRC and NAMA?

    11
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    Mute Philip
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 5:20 PM

    As property prices start to rise nama , ibrc start to dump property

    Can someone explain why?

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    Mute Dara O'Brien
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 5:56 PM

    Dumping loans philip, not property. They’re Dumping the loans as they’re non-performing and want to get them off the balance sheet.

    If they had the patience, they’d put arrangements in place to allow the properties to return to positive equity and then seek a sale, this recouping more of the tax payers money.

    Unfortunately, they’ll sell the loans for a discount and allow the new purchasers to do this and net a tidy profit.

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    Mute Garry Coll
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 5:02 PM

    The article outlines that IBRC (IBROKE would probably be a better name) will offload € 15 billion in loans.
    Yet the linked article tells us that IBROKE have already offloaded 90% of its loanbook, € 19.8 billion out of € 21.7 billion leaving just € 1.9 billion on hand.
    This can only mean, if the previous article is correct, that it is NAMA that is offloading the majority of the loans.
    Why the subterfuge?
    Why make people think that this is some kind of joint enterprise when it is NAMA that is leading the charge?
    Have the shiny suit brigade from the canal something to hide?
    Given their obsession with secrecy it would not surprise me if they have, perhaps selling the loans to some preferred customer with an inside track at a serious discount.
    The way things go it will all be wrapped up before we know anything, plus ça change.

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    Mute Irish Revolution
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 2:58 PM

    Who in their right mind would buy this junk?

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    Mute Padraig McHale
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 3:01 PM

    It might only be worth 30% of face value but if you buy it for 20% it’s a good deal. For the buyer anyway.

    32
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    Mute Tony
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 3:06 PM

    @ Irish Revolution

    The Banks?

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    Mute Deirdre McDonnell
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    Apr 3rd 2014, 2:42 AM

    Hedge funds bought it. They will now sell off all the ghost estates etc at a lower price so people that have houses for sale at the min will eventually have to sell for half or take them off the market.
    Fab house here in drogheda asking price €325. Hilarious. You could now nearly get a house for that on raglan road or ailsbury road!! So that house is realistically worth less than €150 really.
    People and notions ha

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    Mute Vanessa Doyle
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    Apr 2nd 2014, 7:04 PM

    What about Bank of Scotland selling on my mortgage & others in their Irish portfolio to a company called Tanager Ltd.
    I’m in a tizzy all day because I don’t know what it means for us.

    3
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